Andy Murray defeated by Illya Marchenko in ATP Challenger final in Biella

ByAlexander Netherton

Updated 14/02/2021 at 17:42 GMT

Former tennis world number one Andy Murray lost in the final of the ATP Challenger Biella in Italy on Sunday afternoon. Murray is continuing his attempted comeback from hip surgery but was beaten in two sets by Ukranian Illya Marchenko. The Brit had hoped to compete at the Australian Open but missed out after testing positive for Covid before his flight.

Andy Murray suffered a surprise 6-2 6-4 defeat in Italy as he faced Illya Marchenko in the final of ATP Challenger Biella.

Murray's last success came in the European Tennis Open in 2019, and had beaten Marchenko in both of their previous match-ups.

Marchenko and Murray, both 33, played out two sets in Italy while most higher ranked players had travelled to Melbourne to contest the Australian Open.

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Murray's positive coronavirus test had kept him out of the first Grand Slam of the year but he was instead able to travel to Italy to continue his attempted comeback from serious hip surgery that had allowed him to continue his career.

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Marchenko is currently ranked 282 in the world, while Murray, once men's tennis world number one, is ranked 106.

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